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Spotlight needed on urban Indigenous child welfare

Thursday, October 17th, 2019

There is a critical gap in Bill C-92 that fails to address the need for urban service providers to be involved in the federal transformation of Indigenous child and family services. According to unpublished data from the most recent Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018, in 85 per cent of investigations conducted for First Nations children, the family resided off-reserve. Collaboration with urban service delivery experts is paramount to achieve the desired outcomes of this legislation.

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Liberals are the best choice for Canada

Thursday, October 17th, 2019

… despite the failings of the Liberals, this is the time to focus on what’s truly important in the long run… to make sure the wealth is more evenly shared. It cut taxes on the middle class, raised them on the wealthy and directed a lot more support to families with the new Canada Child Benefit… A re-elected Liberal government would also add to the child benefit that has been so vital to reducing poverty. It would finally put a tax on Big Tech companies that haven’t been paying their share. And, very importantly, it would stick to its plan to reduce carbon emissions

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It’s time for federal leaders to focus on inequality

Monday, October 14th, 2019

… there’s a real problem when the benefits of wealth and opportunity are not shared by everyone…. while unemployment is the lowest it’s been in decades, the jobs are increasingly not very good ones… When the federal parties talk about jobs on the campaign trail, it needs to be a conversation about good jobs. When they talk about making life more affordable, they should be clear about who they’re talking about and how they’ll deliver. The Vital Signs report is a depressing but timely reminder that income and wealth are highly co-related with race, where people were born, and where they live now.

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To close the wage gap, focus on child care

Saturday, October 12th, 2019

Canada could add $150 billion to its economy over the next eight years if more women entered and advanced in the workplace. That’s exactly what research shows universal, affordable child care helps women do. Child care is the most effective way to close the wage gap, but it’s about more than that. It’s also about reducing poverty, increasing employment, helping families and growing the economy.

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Ontario government earmarks $40M for more mental health workers in high schools

Friday, October 11th, 2019

The $40 million doubles what the provincial government spent on student mental health two years ago and should “better prepare those people on the front lines” such as teachers and principals into handling troublesome situations and speed “early intervention and assessment,” Lecce said… 70 per cent of mental health and addiction problems begin in the teen years.

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The neutering of Doug Ford

Thursday, October 10th, 2019

Ford has reversed his stand on sex-ed, on a French-language university, on cuts to social services, such as a child benefit that pays for essentials like diapers and food for children in vulnerable families, on cuts to children’s aid societies and more. Ford also caved in during the last-minute contract negotiations with the 55,000 school support staffers, who had threatened to strike this week.

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Should the federal deficit be more of a concern?

Wednesday, October 9th, 2019

Canada’s deficit-fuelled spending binge has helped to temporarily paper over the consequences of a further slowing of income growth, a chronic problem since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008. – vs – When businesses are hoarding cash instead of investing, there is a need for government financed investments funded from new borrowing.

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The Ford government needs to protect temporary workers

Wednesday, October 9th, 2019

… it reversed… equal pay provisions, along with getting rid of two paid sick days for all workers and a minimum-wage increase to $15 an hour… The Ford government should bring back the Liberal labour law updates it so thoughtlessly repealed and pass the necessary regulations to ensure companies who hire temp workers have an incentive to keep them safe… before tragedy strikes again.

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Ontario wants to pool public sector benefits, potentially saving millions

Wednesday, October 9th, 2019

… some pooling exists now, but the new plan would end the current patchwork system. The new system is being targeted at the health care sector, as well as colleges and universities… The move is part of the government’s focus on public sector compensation, which represents $72 billion, about one half of government spending.

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Blackface and an about-face: How Canada’s promise of reconciliation went wrong

Tuesday, October 8th, 2019

While the tribunal’s initial nine orders focused on trying to stop Canada’s discrimination, the September 2019 order was intended to compensate the children and families who were harmed by the discrimination and would not benefit from new reforms. It was a small measure of justice for lost childhoods.

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